Leave a message here if you’re interested in booking me for a speaking engagement or tour. I have a few different presentations complete and some in the works, and with enough lead time I can customize one for your group.
Western PA Civil War Roundtable, Pittsburgh, PA
- August 15, 2007
Rufus Barringer Civil War Roundtable, Pinehurst, NC
- September 20, 2007
Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable, Columbus, OH
- March 12, 2008
Sharpsburg Heritage Days – SHAF Lecture Series, Sharpsburg, MD
- September 13, 2008
Rufus Barringer Civil War Roundtable, Pinehurst, NC
- May 19, 2011
Capitol Hill Civil War Roundtable, Washington, DC
- June 6, 2011
Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable, Leesburg, VA
- June 14, 2011
Civil War Institute of Gettysburg College Annual Summer Conference, Mobilizing for War Gettysburg, PA/Manassas, VA
- June 29, 2011
Gettysburg Foundation A Sacred Trust Series Gettysburg, PA
- July 2, 2011
Rufus Barringer Civil War Roundtable, Pinehurst, NC
- April 18, 2013
Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable, Columbus, OH
- March 12, 2014
Second Saturday Lecture Series, Carnegie Library, Carnegie, PA
- January 9, 2016
Bull Runnings Battlefield Tour with John Hennessy, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
- April 23, 2016
California University of PA Civil War Roundtable, California, PA, Kara Alumni House
- July 14, 2016
Ohio County Public Library, Lunch With Books, Wheeling, WV
- October 18, 2016
Brandy Station Foundation, Brandy Station, VA
- September 24, 2017
Mt. Lebanon, PA Boy Scout Troop 28
- March 20, 2018
Bull Runnings Photography Tour with John Cummings, Manassas National Battlefield Park
- June 9, 2018
Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable, Columbus, OH
- September 12, 2018
Bull Runnings Artillery Tour with Craig Swain, Manassas National Battlefield Park
- October 20, 2018
Peninsula Foundation Civil War Lecture Series, Peninsula, OH
- April 25, 2019
Civil War Symposium, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Carnegie, PA
- April 27, 2019
Bull Runnings Tour – In the Footsteps of the 69th New York State Militia, Manassas, VA
- May 11, 2019
Anniversary Lectures (2) and Battlefield Tour, Prince William County Historic Preservation Division and Manassas Battlefield Trust, Manassas, VA
- July 20-21, 2019
Loudoun County Civil War Round Table, Leesburg, VA
- March 10, 2020
Civil War Round Table of Central Louisiana
- July 30, 2020 (Facebook Live)
Rufus Barringer Civil War Round Table, Pinehurst, NC
- October 15, 2020
Bull Run Civil War Round Table
- February 11, 2021 (Zoom)
Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table, Sullivan’s Island, Charleston, SC
- April 12, 2021
Civil War Times Magazine First Monday, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
- July 21, 2021
Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Carnegie PA
- March 12, 2022
- March 16, 2022 (Zoom)
Frederick County Civil War Roundtable, Frederick, MD
- April 21, 2022
Powhatan Civil War Roundtable, Powhatan, VA
- January 19, 2023
Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table, Charleston, SC
- March 13, 2023
Rufus Barringer Civil War Roundtable, Pinehurst, NC
- March 16, 2023
Mason Dixon Civil War Roundtable, Morgantown, WV
- March 21, 2023
Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable, Columbus, OH
- April 12, 2023
Western Pennsylvania Civil War Roundtable, Sewickley, PA
- May 17, 2023
Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable, Wheeling, WV
- June 24th, 2023
Raleigh Civil War Roundtable, Raleigh, NC
- July 10, 2023
Addressing Gettysburg Podcast, Gettysburg, PA
- August 13, 2023
- Recap
Bull Run Civil War Round Table, Centreville, VA
- January 11, 2024
Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable, Columbus, OH
- April 10, 2024
Harry Smeltzer
Bull Runnings 
Do you do private party speaking engagements – say for a small group of 12?
Will you dress-up as Clara Barton – if I pay you well enough?
Like the site!
Regards,
Craig
WPCWRT
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Hello Harry,
I’d love to share this tidbit with you>>
CIVIL WAR 150th ANNIVERSARY Draws 4-Year Series in Atlanta, GA June 15 – Aug 27. The series, ending August 2014 on the anniversary of the “Battle of Atlanta”, to feature noted historians, lecturers, authors, news publishers, curators and entertaining activities for the entire family. Series focuses on inspiring a better understanding of the Civil War‟s impact on Atlanta as it is known today.
On June 22, Cyclorama to feature Historian for Academy Award-Winning Film “GLORY”
http://atlanta.daybooknetwork.com/story/2011/06/21/40753atlanta-civil-war-series-2011.shtml
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Hey Craig!
Sure, Bar Mitvahs, bachelorette parties, whatever. Every man has his price. Clara Barton? No problemo!
Harry
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Are you REALLY going to be at Teej’s RT in Pinehurst? Maybe I can arrange to visit my son in Raleigh about that time.
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Terry,
Yes, I am REALLY going to be in Pinehurst.
Harry
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Hey Harry,
Could you shoot me a note over at renetyree@hotmail.com. Need to ask a quick question via email.
Thx
Rene
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Check your mailbox, Rene. I don’t post my email address here on the site for security reasons, but anyone trying to get hold of me can do so via the comments section. When you give your email info to make the comment, I can reach you using it.
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[…] In related-related news, I have tentatively determined that the role of the two USMA classes of 1861 in the battle will be the subject of my next round table program. Don’t get excited: I don’t have any takers yet. If you’re interested, leave a note on the Speaking Dates page. […]
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[…] by graduates of the West Point classes of 1861. I don’t have any takers yet (leave a message here if you’re interested), but I’m not letting that stop me and you readers, both of you, will […]
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Harry
Off topic
I just finished Brent Nosworthy’s chapter in Roll Call to Destiny, on Burnside at First Manassas, and in it he keeps refereing to artillery posted by the Lewis house firing on Burnside’s troops. Isn’t it the Henry house that he means? The only Lewis house I am aware of is Portici, and that is certainly out of 6 pdr range.
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Steve,
I’ll look into this a little more (I only reviewed the book in brief, so I did not read it all), but there was a Maggie Lewis house just north of the northernmost bend of Young’s Branch, and south of Pittsylvania (the Carter house). Davidson’s guns were north of the pike and south of this house, and did fire on Burnside IIRC. You can see the house on Hennessy’s maps, the Collier overlay maps, and the Bearss maps.
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Harry
Yeah, I dug out my Hennessy and found the Lewis place. It’s till alittle low topograpically, and I’ll check it out next time I’m there. With the tree removal going on, it may clear up the picture. Thanks for the info.
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Steve:
See here for more on this.
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Hello Harry, would like to hear from you by email at francis@francisrose.net. Thanks!
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[…] SPEAKING DATES […]
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Although I am not well-versed in the Civil War, I feel that those who were involved were pioneers in the art facial hair. I recently learned that sideburns were named after Ambrose Burnside. Who would comprise Bull Running’s facial hair top 10?
Ryan
Birmingham (now South Side), Pa.
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Well, there was some pretty impressive facial hair at Bull Run, including a relatively svelt Amborse Burnside. I’d have to think on it – the problem is that not a whole lot of the fellas had their pictures taken right before the battle (Burnisde did, however), so who’s to say what they were sprouting at the time. Confederate Wade Hampton would later sport a style similar to Burnside’s. McDowell had a sweet Imperial; Joe Johnston a nice Van Dyke. Beauregard’s neat jazz do would still fit in down New Orleans way.
A good and important question, Ryan. Thanks for asking!
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I found your article on the Family Ties-Kilpatrick Part 11 very interesting. You are talking about my family and I enjoyed it very much. Philip Hickey morgan and by the way it is Hicky after Philip Hicky (my great, great, grandfather) his wife (my great great grandmother Anne Mather Hicky) is my name sake. My great grandfather is Henry Waller Fowler, his Bowie knife is in the Alamo. Now that I brag enough. I just wanted to tell I enjoyed the article. Thanks Anne
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Anne,
I’m glad you enjoyed the article, and hope you read all of the series. There are a number of your family in Allegheny Cemetery here in Pittsburgh. I’ll correct the spelling. Don’t be surprised if you see your note posted as an article – I like to do that when descendants contact me.
Harry
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Anne:
I am descended from Philip Hicky and Henry Waller Fowler as well, and would be very interested in corresponding. I have some information, and sillhouette portraits of HWF and his wife, Ida Hicky Fowler.
Thanks.
John
john.c.ellis@mercer.com
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[…] BOOK ME, DANO! […]
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[…] BOOK ME, DANO! […]
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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Just found your interesting site and thought you might help me with a problem. I am working on a history of Co. I, 9th Alabama Infantry and I am confused about why they were delayed and missed the Battle of Manassas. Do you know the true story about why the train carrying them to Manassas was delayed?
Thanks and have a great day.
Ronald Pettus
Athens, AL 35613
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The 9th Alabama was certainly not the only regiment of Johnston’s army that did not make it to the field in time to take part in the battle. While the move to Manassas from Winchester began on July 18th around noon the first troops, Jackson’s, didn’t reach Piedomont Station, 17 miles away, until sometime before 9 the next morning when they entrained for Manassas. Bartow’s men didn’t leave until about 6 PM on the 19th, so we can figure about 9 hours for the round trip if the train didn’t stop. Bee’s men, along with Johnston, left on the 20th around 7 AM so it figures that the trains did not run constantly, maybe took about a 4 hour break. Smith stayed at Piedmont to move men. Bee and Johnston arrived at Manassas around noon on the 20th, so that’s a 5 hour one way trip. According to Elzey, his brigade left Piedomont at “daylight” on the 21st and after much delay reached Manassas around noon. No other troops arrived between Bee and Elzey (Smith), so it figures the trains did not run from the time they got back from Manassas on the 20th until daylight on the 21st. You’ve got to figure at least a nine hour round trip, so the best case for another load of men arriving in Manassas would have been 9 PM on the 21st.
Most sources say the 9th was delayed by “an accident”, but I don’t have any details on the specifics of an accident. Perhaps it occurred after Bee arrived at Manassas and before Elzey left Piedmont.
This sequence of events propbably deserves its own post.
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I just put up a Civil War Battles and Casualties interactive map on the web site for the Washington Post and would appreciate if you could take a second to look at it when you have a chance. It is at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/lifestyle/special/civil-war-interactive/civil-war-battles-and-casualties-interactive-map/
Thanks,
Gene
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Gene,
It’s reminiscent of “The Civil War in 4 Minutes”. Is there any way to slow it down a little?
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Harry,
Thanks for taking a minute to check my interactive out. That 4 minutes video is indeed pretty cool to watch. I would love to know how they determined the dividing lines between the North and South.
Regarding play rate, with this type of graphic the speed will vary depending on the viewer’s computer processor and Internet connection. Generally it should take about 40 seconds to play the entire war. I wanted it to be quick to keep people’s attention. A speed control is something I have in the works, but am not sure how soon I will be able implement it considering there is much more coming with this interactive.
In the meantime, you can adjust the scrubbers in the timeline to a range of your choosing, than drag the black bar between the scrubbers across the timeline manually at any rate you want. If the scrubbers are unresponsive, make sure that the play mode is not on by pushing the stop button.
I am not sure it is clear that you can click on the month and year symbols to show only the engagements for that time period. Once you have refined the battles to a time range, you can use the double arrows on either side of the screen to go to the next or previous month/year. Try clicking on the August of 1862 button (“A”), then zoom in to Northern Virginia and let me know what you think about the 2nd Manassas Campaign. If I am missing any engagements or if you see one that is not located properly, let me know and I will add/adjust.
This interactive is by no means complete. Currently there are just over 4,300 engagements shown, that leaves more than 5,000 for me to still locate. I also will be adding more custom historic map tiles at closer zoom levels so viewers can better see the railroads, terrain and roads of the time period. Other significant upgrades are in the works as well.
Thanks again for looking at the interactive. Sorry for the lengthy reply.
-Gene
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Harry, could you email me? Thanks.
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Check your inbox, Pat.
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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Harry,
Looking forward to meeting you at the CWI – I read your blog every moment I get a chance. I placed your Manassas break out tour as one of my top three and if the powers that be deem it so, I look forward to touring the battlefield with you.
Can ya give me any more of a sneak peek than the short blurb they emailed us? The title certainly peaked my interest – “Hidden Mysteries of First Bull Run “…
Mike
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Mike,
As the blurb says, the tour is meant for folks who are already familiar with the x’s and o’s of the battle. My tour will consist of vignettes, mostly of a biographical nature, to flesh out some of the personalities and also relate what they did at Bull Run in a slightly different light.
Thanks for requesting my tour!
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Harry,
Hello my name is Joe Cappa and im with the Scottdale Civil War Round Table here in Scottdale Pa. We are interested in having you give a presentation at our Round Table sometime next year. If you could give me some information on your topics, your fee and what you would require that would be great. We just formed here this past spring and had our first meetings over the past few months. We are currently booking speakers for next year now. Hope to hear from you.
Thank you,
Joe Cappa
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Check your emailbox, Joe.
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I have a large file on the Crescent Blues, Goodwyn’s Company B, including a roster and a history written by Lt. Lybrook. My wife’s great grandfather was in the company. I was able to find a mislabled photograph of Captain Schaeffer and a map of his position at first Bull Run. The other company under his command has been mistakely assigned to a Captain E. Macom in the official report. He was really Edgar Macoin and was killed at Seven Pines. Company B included the famous laundress, Rosa Quinn Rooney.
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Hi Robert,
Thanks for the info. If you have anything you’d like to share with the site (articularly the image and the map), you can always contact me at hjs21 at comcast dot net.
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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[…] following exchange took place a good while back, strangely enough on the Book Me, Danno! page. I keep meaning to post […]
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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Hi Harry. Great site. Do you review books? I’ve written three. You can check me out on Amazon.
Les Rolston
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Les, I preview lots of Civil War non-fiction here. Reviews are less common, as they require more time. Go to the “tag cloud” at the bottom of the right hand column of this page and click on “ACW Books” for a sampling. Also check out “Interviews” for author interviews.
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Dear Mr. Smeltzer,
I’m writing a book about an ancestor who used the ford in 1731. It will be distributed free to close family members, and possibly by subscription to a larger family association, in which case the price would be the cost of printing and binding (??? $10 ???). May I have your permission to use your photo of the group wading the Potomac at Pack Horse Ford?
Thank you,
Chuck Morgan
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Hello Mr. Smeltzer,
I am booking speakers for our 2019 Civil War Lecture Series at the G.A.R. Hall in Peninsula, Ohio. I was wondering if you would like to present The Future of Civil War History for us. Our lectures are held on the fourth Thursday of the month from March to October at 7:00pm. Please let me know if you are able and willing to present for us.
Kind regards,
Rebecca Urban
Peninsula Foundation
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Hi Rebecca. Why don’t you shoot me an email – hjs21@comcast.net.
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Rebecca, please let me know that you received the message about emailing me…
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Yes I did and I emailed you.
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Weird – I didn’t get it.
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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Interested in a speaking engagement for the Quincy Gillmore CWRT
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Keith, send me an email at hjs21@comcast.net
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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Harry, my 85 year-old Dad and I are trying to visit all Civil War battlefields that are classified as “A” by the Civil War Advisory Commission: “Having a decisive influence on a campaign and a direct impact on the course of the war.”
He is flying into Dulles on Friday, September 9, 2022. The two of us plan a short visit to Ball’s Bluff on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, we plan on spending about half a day studying 1st Bull Run, and then the next day and a half studying 2nd Manassas.
We love to hire guides. We read material before we arrive, but we like to have an expert with us to answer questions like “was that shot or shell being from this position?”
I got your name out of the acknowledgements for “The Maps of First Bull Run.”
Would you be interested in helping a couple of Civil War enthusiasts understand these two (or 3) battles? What are the fees you usually charge? Our usual modus operandi is to drive around the battle, with the guide riding shotgun and Dad in the back seat. That way you can talk and point things out.
My cell phone is 515-988-0103. Please feel free to call or text.
Thanks for your consideration.
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[…] BOOK ME, DANNO! […]
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